Sam Stryke

Sam Stryke
Background information
Born	1970-12-23 Grand_Rapids, Michigan  United States
Genres	Adult contemporary
Occupations	Composer, recording artist
Instruments	Piano
Website	www.samstryke.com

Sam Stryke is the artist name of Sam Struyk (born December 23, 1970). Stryke is an American composer and contemporary pianist, who has released three albums, including his most recent Christmas (2006), which includes adaptaptions of classic Christmas carols, along with several original compositions. Stryke, along with business partner Sandy Torrano working under the name of Scandal Music, are responsible for composing the music for the award-winning Real Men of Genius campaign, along with numerous other well known ad campaigns including Bud Light, Nintendo, McDonald’s, Capital One, State Farm and many more.

Stryke has also composed music for independent films and TV including The Oprah Winfrey Show, the Oprah and Friends XM Satellite radio show, and Oprah Winfrey’s “Leadership Academy” prime time TV special devoted to her school in South Africa.

A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Stryke moved to Chicago, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Northwestern University in 1993. He has studied with jazz pianist Michael Kocour, noted composer and arranger Cliff Colnot, and New York-based jazz pianist Jim McNeely through a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1994.

Stryke resides on the north side of Chicago with his wife, Heather, and his two children, Xander and Sophie.

Discography

• 1991 - In the Wind
• 2002 - Emerging
• 2006 - Christmas

External links

• The Official Sam Stryke Website
• Sam Stryke Performs with Alice Peacock on WGN in Chicago